‘Increased number’of loans for house purchase in June

The number of loans approved for remortgaging and house purchase increased in June from the previous month and were higher than the average of the last six months, according to new figures from the Bank of England.

Its latest data, released this week, found that some 47,584 loans were approved for house purchase, while 35,011 were approved for remortgaging.

Paul Samter, chief economist of the Council of Mortgage Lenders noted that lending activity is "certainly more positive"than the outlook at the beginning of the year and could represent a "gradual improvement"in the market.

However, he said that ongoing deterioration in the labour market and continued restrictions on lending capacity will cause any recovery to be "slow and drawn out".

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors echoed this statement, adding that credit conditions may ease in the long term thanks in part to the Bank of China's entry into the UK mortgage market.